Inside the room, Hayes was sound asleep. He did not wake up to respond, and Rowe was not expecting him to.

~*~

Rowe stood in front of Demetre Pritchard’s home. It was not what she expected. His home was nice. Very nice. However, Rowe was expecting something obnoxiously grand. Demetre Pritchard, after all, was the wealthiest man in Colorful, or one of them, at least. Her curiosity about Demetre Pritchard, the man, not the employer, was piqued.

Rowe made her way to the front door and gave it a knock. A few seconds later, the door was opened and Rowe was greeted by a very distinguished-looking older gentleman.

“Ms. Smith?” he inquired.

“Miss Smith.” she responded.

“I’m Demetre Pritchard. Welcome to my home.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Pritchard.” Rowe said as they shook hands.

“Just Demetre is fine. My office is right this way.” He directed.

“I’m home alone at the moment. My children are at school, so I’ve got to play the host all by my lonesome.” Demetre said as he walked with Rowe to his office.

“Please, have a seat, Miss Smith.”

Demetre’s office was massive, yet warm and inviting. There was his desk, of course; a table for working, or meals perhaps. There was also a sitting area. Rowe loved the amount of natural light his office captured.

“Would you like some coffee? I made it myself and it’s not too bad.”

Rowe sort of smiled at Demetre’s offer.

“No. Thank you so much for offering, though.”

Rowe was a bit caught off guard by Demetre’s kindness. She was expecting to be in the presence of a mean snob with a major superiority complex, but Demetre, so far, came across as the complete opposite.

Demetre made his way to the sitting area and took a seat diagonal from Rowe. He casually crossed his legs, leaned back, and rested his arm on the back of the sofa.

“Now then, I suppose you’re wondering why a client that’s looking for someone to be responsible for his children would ask to meet with someone who’s resume shows no indication of having that experience.” Demetre began.

“To answer your question, I can’t rightly say if I do or not as I haven’t had the opportunity to deal with children on a regular basis. But, just like with adults, it all comes down to personality, right? That’s what actually determines how well one gets along with others, don’t you think?”

“Thank you, Rowe.” He started. “What I want … what I need is someone that can bring a little sunshine back into this house. Working as my personal assistant IS in the job description, but more than anything, I need someone that can liven things up around here.”

“I wanted to meet with you because your employment with Assistance Resources, Inc. shows tremendous stability. I noticed that several of your assignments were extended on multiple occasions due to your exemplary work performance. You have never asked to end an assignment early. You’ve seen every assignment through to the very end.”

“I need someone that’s not going to bail on us and based on your resume, you fit that criteria.”

“Thank you for sharing that with me, Demetre. I spent all morning wondering what the reason or reasons for your request to interview me were. But … I don’t think I’m the one–”

Demetre cut her off. “You are the one, Rowe. I’ve looked into your eyes. Your eyes are very earnest. My gut tells me that you are the one that can handle this job.”

“Umm… Demetre, I can’t–”

“Please, Rowe. You are the only candidate that Assistance Resources has sent that I feel sure about.” Demetre seemed almost desperate.

Rowe felt something weird wash over her. The weirdness wasn’t uncomfortable, but it wasn’t good either. Could it be that she thought Demetre was asking too much of her – too much of anyone? Could it be that she wasn’t as capable as she seemed? What was this feeling?

Demetre broke Rowe’s train of thought.

“How about this? Why don’t you stay for a weekend? Consider it a working interview. You can meet my children and we can go over my expectations for you as my personal assistant.”

“Uh…” was all Rowe could manage to mutter.

“Just give it some thought.” Demetre stood up. “I’ll contact Ms. McNamara and give her some dates so the two of you can coordinate–” Demetre stopped himself and looked at Rowe. “Well, that’s if you accept the offer, of course.”

“Accept the offer?” Rowe was out of it.

“Yes. I’ll be presenting an offer to Ms. McNamara.” Demetre paused. “Would you like to accompany me for lunch?”

“Lunch?” Things were moving at a pace much faster than Rowe could follow. This was a very unexpected turn of events. “Ah … no … if there’s nothing else, I should probably get going.”

“I see.” Demetre sounded rather disappointed. “Well, thank you so much for giving me your time.”

“Thank you for expressing an interest in me as a candidate.”

“I’ll make sure that Ms. McNamara gets in touch with you. Let me see you out.”

Demetre and Rowe leave his office and walk towards the front door. When they arrive at the door, Rowe turns to Demetre.

Rowe Smith is at the office of her employer, Assistance Resources, Inc. She’s meeting with her boss, Gwendolyn McNamara, and receiving information about a new client.

“We have an assignment for you.” Gwendolyn began. “I cannot say with certainty if this will be permanent or temporary.” She takes a pause. “We’ve already sent seven candidates to this client and after meeting with them, he hasn’t been impressed with either of them enough to give a start date.”

Rowe sighed. “…and you expect me to be any different?”

“We sent the client your resume and he’s interested in meeting with you. So, who knows?”

“I’m not feeling very hopeful, and it almost sounds like you’re scraping me from the bottom of the barrel.”

“You shouldn’t feel that way at all, Rowe. We’ve been at this since you were finishing up with the Chesne client.”

“I see.” Rowe was doubtful. “Anyway, who is this client, and what does he need?”

“The client needs a full-time personal assistant. Someone to manage his affairs, finances, and children. If you’re selected, you’ll be working for Demetre Pritchard.”

“Demetre Pritchard? The Demetre Pritchard? The Founder and CEO of Pritchard Publications?!”

“Yes, that very one.” Gwendolyn said through a giggle.

Rowe leaves her seat and walks over to the windows. She was in deep thought.

Rowe shared a home with her brother, Hayes, who did not know the meaning of moderation. He enjoyed heavy drinking, drugs, and sex. It made living with him rather difficult. Unfortunately, Rowe was stuck with Hayes as none of her previous assignments paid enough or lasted long enough for her to live on her own.

Demetre Pritchard was offering room, board, AND a salary. This could be the opportunity she was looking for, but it was iffy at best. Seven candidates had already faced Pritchard, and not one of them was selected. What chance could she possibly have?

“Rowe?” Gwendolyn called, snapping Rowe out of her thoughts.

Rowe turned to face Gwendolyn.

“I have no idea where you went in your head just now, but your interview with the client is tomorrow at 10AM.” Gwendolyn stated.

“Pritchard’s information is in the binder on the corner there.” Gwendolyn said as she walked back to her desk.

Rowe looked at the binder. On the cover was a black and gold business card.

“Well, that’s classy.” She thought to herself.

Rowe scooped up the binder and headed to the door.

“Wish me luck, Gwen.”

“Best of luck to you, Rowe. I’ll call you after the interview.”

~*~

After meeting with Gwendolyn and running some errands, Rowe pulled up in front of her home. She was hesitant to enter the house. When she left that morning, Hayes was still asleep.

Rowe exited her vehicle and headed towards the house.

When Rowe opened the front door, she was greeted with naked guests sleeping on the sofa, and some that were passed out on the floor. There was a sea of clothing, alcohol, pill bottles, and trash.

“What the hell?! I was only gone for six hours!” Rowe said to herself.

Assuming that Hayes was either sleeping or passed out like the guests on the floor, Rowe went directly to his room to voice her anger.

It was not a good time for Rowe to enter his room. Hayes was heavily engaged in a three-way.

Hayes and his friends were so occupied with the three-way action that they didn’t even notice Rowe was in the room. Her rampage was drowned out from the moaning, heavy breathing, and passionate screams.

Rowe sat on the edge of her bed with her head in her hands. She was done with Hayes and the house.

An excellent cook and the older sister of Hayes Smith. She is very hardworking and honest. She falls in love easily, but often leaves herself emotionally and physically unguarded as she feels that men do not see her as a potential lover, but rather as a sister type, or good friend. She is the former lead singer of a local Neo Soul band called “Caramel.”